All Articles Tagged "Heavy D"

With the weather heating up, the spring and summer will give birth to a fresh batch of musical festivals. Two years ago, Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre were joined onstage with a hologram of the late great rapper 2Pac at the Coachella Festival and we realized there are a lot of other deceased artists we’d like to see in Hologram this summer.

Bob Marley

His music is just as popular as ever but the younger generation never had the opportunity to see Bob Marley perform live. The reggae legend started out his musical career with the Wailers but he soon went solo and achieved international success. Marley’s songwriting skills resonated with an audience worldwide and he became the voice of the downtrodden and gave hope to the masses. Marley gave his last performance on September 23, 1980 but shortly after that his health quickly deteriorated. When he succumbed to brain cancer the following May, the entire world mourned his loss.

When the ’90s ended so did much of Monifah’s mainstream career. The singer left us with singles like “Touch It” and “I Can Tell” but after she was dropped by her label, she did more low key projects, appearing in stage plays and things of that nature.

But now Monifah’s back. The 41-year-old is working on her fourth studio album and she’s also getting ready to star in a new reality TV show on TV One with Faith Evans, Keke Wyatt, and Syleena Johnson. Just he Fab caught up with the singer to see what she’s been up to all this time and what she has planned down the line. Here are a few snippets from the interview:

What happened to make her leave the industry

“Life happened. When I did the third album, it didn’t do as well as the others. It did well to not have any promotion behind it, they just sort of threw it against the wall to see if it would stick. I wasn’t really anyone’s baby at the label once Heav left the CEO position… Teddy Riley produced that album and creatively it felt like the best of me up to that point. I was very happy with the project…

“Universal decided to drop me…I fell out of love with the business and I kind of was depressed and drinking a lot.

Rumors that she left the business because of a drug addition

“Addiction came later. I was gone and didn’t have a deal before that part started. I’ve been clean for a year-and-a-half. I was using for seven years. I left way before that but in the interim after that, depression, not really having a passion, trying to find my way, led me down a path of numbing, not dealing, and not just because of the business. Our experiences shape us as children, things that you go through as a child affect you so the abandonment issues were dredged up once I was dropped from the label. I lost my dad, I lost my brother, I lost my aunt and I don’t think I dealt with the loss in the correct way and the symptom of that was the addiction.”

What her new reality show, “R&B Divas,” will be about

“We’ve gone through some really trying times and have come through, by the grace of God, stronger and grateful and happy and not bitter and not blaming anyone and being accountable. We fight, love, and laugh… We’re real friends, we’re not people coming from obscurity trying to be famous. We work hard, we have our own brands, and we’re not coming into it to be famous. We’re coming into it to share our story.”

Monifah also spoke on why she and Heavy became distanced after he launched her career and how she handled news of his passing. Check out the full interview below.

The entertainment industry is clear on one thing: If you’re a woman, you need to be thin and if you’re a man you must be in shape to make a living and be successful. But these entertainers took matters into their own hands and actually made a living – in part or in full – based on being overweight. Check it out!

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What a year, huh?! We’ve seen some good, bad, and ugly moments in pop culture in 2011 and it is about time for us to put our spin on it as we head into 2012. Take a moment to see what’s on our list and feel free to add your own memories in the comment section.

A medical examiner with the Los Angeles County Coroner’s office has ruled that a pulmonary embolism caused by deep vein thrombosis is what took the life of 44-year-old Dwight Myers, better known as Heavy D, Nov 8.

Pulmonary embolisms typically result from blood clots formed in the leg that travel up to the lung and stop blood flow. Although in most cases the clots aren’t life-threatening, officials say Heavy D’s heart disease may have been a contributing factor in his death as well. TMZ also reported that Heavy D’s flight from Wales after performing at a Michael Jackson tribute concert may have been a factor in his death, as the blood clots may have formed in his legs due to his prolonged immobility on the long flight.

Heavy D was finally laid to rest Nov. 18 although he will me missed forever. It will be sad going into 2012 without him but at least his family now has some amount of closure concerning his death.

Brande Victorian is a blogger and culture writer in New York City. Follower her on Twitter at @be_vic.

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After the tragic death of his brother, R&B crooner, Carl Thomas, took a break from the music industry. But now he’s back with his latest studio effort “Conquer.” Madame Noire sat down with Mr. Thomas, quizzed him on his R&B knowledge, his latest album and that curly hair of his.

Check out the video!

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2011 has had it’s shares of ups and downs, but there may be certain things in your life that you may not even suspect are contributing to your unhappiness. Take a look at the following ten things that could be depriving you of a whole lot of laughs and plenty of good times.

Celebrities like Jay-Z, Will Smith, Usher and many others gathered at Grace Baptist Church in Mount Vernon, New York to celebrate the life of the influential rapper, Heavy D.

Heavy D’s close friend, Diddy, had this to say at the service

He became my friend. He became my brother, and I’m not talking about friend-brother like we cavalierly use the word, I’m talking about a real friend, a real brother,” Diddy said. “Somebody I shared my dreams and my secrets with, somebody that’s been there for me at my lowest point, my darkest hour when nobody wanted to be beside me.

President Obama also sent a letter to the rapper’s daughter, Xea.

You can read an excerpt of the letter and see which other celebs were in attendance here.

The hip-hop world is still in shock over the news of the passing of “the overweight lover” Heavy D two days ago at the age of 44. Seeing Heavy perform just one month ago on the BET Hip Hop awards–his first performance in 15 years– brought back memories of the rapper’s ’80s and ’90s fame. The man behind the “In Living Color” theme song, won the hearts of females and the hard-earned respect of male hip-hoppers. He was an everyman, whose hits like “Now That We’ve Found Love” and “The Overweight Lover” used to blast through speakers at family cookouts inspiring both grandmothers and teens to hit the dance floor.